


Blossom

by SlamburgerPatty



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Never Met, Background sonadow, Eventual Romance, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, I'm Bad At Summaries, It's super gay ok, M/M, Slow Burn, You know it's a rare pair when I rise from the dead to write fanfiction, espilver, silvespio
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-19
Updated: 2019-08-11
Packaged: 2020-07-08 09:36:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19867441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SlamburgerPatty/pseuds/SlamburgerPatty
Summary: “I like patching people up, actually. Where I come from there’s so much destruction and pain. It’s nice to be able to contribute to something...healing, ya know? Even if it is in some small way.” Silver pulled some medical tape off the roll and ripped it with his teeth, leaning forward into Espio to secure the gauze. Espio felt his own body tense when the hedgehog entered his space again.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Well hello, I have risen from the dead to provide some much-needed content for this pairing. Hopefully I do not disappoint!
> 
> Some notess:
> 
> !They are AGED UP. Silver is 21 and Espio is 22.
> 
> I am not an expert in every piece of lore and mythos in this fandom, and I wouldn't expect any of you guys to be either. So I took some creative license when writing this. If something doesn't quite fit in with cannon or timeline, don't worry too much about it.
> 
> There will be a little bit of spice here and there but nothing in full blown - if that changes I will tag as needed.
> 
> This was my very first fandom, but it has been (not exaggerating here) 10 years since I've written anything for it, so I would really appreciate any comments you could leave, it would be very encouraging to me and will make me more likely to continue to post  
> in the future.
> 
> Enjoy!

Silver bounded up the steps to Tails’ workshop, boots thumping on the plywood stairs. He was ecstatic that the fox had finally called him with a mission. It had been several months since he and Blaze had settled into this time zone and he had made it clear from day one that the second his help may be needed for the kit to contact him. He had run assists on a few assignments here and there but this was the first one he would be headed on without the aid of Sonic or Shadow, the duo of hedgehogs currently on a different undertaking for G.U.N.   
  
Tails hadn’t called upon Blaze for assistance with this either, interestingly enough. As much as he loves Blaze and appreciates everything she does for him (which is a lot, now that they were living together) it was a nice change of pace for them not to be considered a package deal. It meant he was being viewed as a valuable asset to the team - all on his own.  
  
He stopped in front of the door and politely knocked three times. Of course he and Tails were friends, but he didn’t know if they were good enough friends for him to just walk in... What if he was doing something private in there? But then again this was his workshop, well, his living quarters were actually upstairs but-  
  
“Come in, Silver!” The kitsune’s friendly voice rang from inside, effectively cutting off Silver’s train of anxious over-thinking.  
  
Silver entered the glorified shack, closing the door behind him. His eyes immediately finding Tails sitting on his swivel stool, pushed away from one of his many, _many_ workbenches. He was facing...a...uh...well, he wasn’t quite sure what the purple reptile was.  
  
“Thanks for coming, Silver!” Tails’ head turned from the direction of the purple Mobian who was standing with his arms confidently crossed over his chest.  
  
“Silver, this is Espio, he’s going to be your partner for the mission.” The young vulpine gestured graciously to the unfamiliar male, who in turn nodded politely yet reservedly to the hedgehog.  
  
_Espio?... Espio … Ah! Yes! Espio the Chameleon._ He’d heard the name plenty of times before amongst his team members but he had never actually met who it belonged to.   
  
Silver had never actually seen a chameleon before. Come to think of it, the total number of reptiles he had met could probably be counted on one hand. Not anything intentional of course...perhaps in his time period and the area he occupied just had less reptiles...and, well, less of everything, really.  
  
The lizard who stood before him was the most dashing shade of purple (Blaze’s lilac purple was pretty but.. _.wowza_ ). He had large, observant eyes ( _like searchlights_ ) and black spines that ran down his back that somehow accentuated his lithe yet muscular form.  
  
In a word, _stunning._  
  
Silver’s ogling was interrupted by Tails’ voice.  
  
“Silver, I asked you to come to work as backup for Espio while he runs reconnaissance against Eggman for me.” Tails had turned back to his desk and was now shuffling through what looked to be piles and piles blueprints. “This mission requires stealth and if you are needed, possibly long-range combat, which is why I decided to keep the number of bodies to a minimum and not call Blaze.”  
  
“Eggman? What’s going on?” Silver felt his body tense in anticipation, his fingers subconsciously curling into loose fists.  
  
“He’s definitely up to something, judging by the recent energy fluctuations I’ve been tracking, but I’m not sure what exactly. Since I don’t know what kind of energy he’s manipulating just yet, I’m hesitant to send in one of my drones, lest it be detected. Which is why I asked Espio to perform some covert surveillance of the doctor.”  
  
“Huh? How are you more likely to get by undetected than a drone?” Silver tilted his head slightly, causing his head crest quills to swish a bit, curious gold eyes flitting questioningly between Tails and Espio.  
  
“ _Cute_ …” Espio thought with amusement.  
  
While the hedgehog’s attention was momentarily turned to Tails, Espio discreetly unsheathed a small Kunai from his glove gauntlet and threw it across the room in one fluid motion, lodging it in the bulletin board full of news articles on the opposite side of the room, dislodging a few and sending them fluttering to the floor.  
  
Silver’s attention whipped to the far wall with the board, seeing the papers settling on the floor and assumed something insignificant had just fallen off one of the neighboring shelves. He turned back to the chameleon and-  
  
“Huh? Where did he just g-” Silver’s question was cut short when Epsio seemingly materialized from thin air right in front of him, his horn inches away from his face.  
  
“Holy crap!” Silver yelped and jumped backwards. However his initial alarm soon shifted into giddy admiration as he realized what Espio had just done.  
  
“Wow, how did you do that? That’s awesome!” He grinned eagerly at Espio who couldn’t help but let a small smile grace his lips. He briefly thought that Silver reminded him of an over-excitable puppy.  
  
“Chameleons possess the natural ability to change their color to match their environment. Most can only do so subconsciously or when in danger, but I trained enough to where I can do it whenever I need to.” Espio re-crossed his arms, finding pleasure in the hedgehog’s attention...for...some reason.  
  
“Exactly!” Tails smiled at both of them. “Espio’s job will be to infiltrate Eggman’s base using his camouflage and see if he can glean any more information about what he’s planning. You’re his backup; your job is to cover him while entering and exiting the base and if he is detected, to enter the base and make sure he gets out safely. Not that I think that will happen, but better safe than sorry.” Tails winked as Espio who just nodded cordially.  
  
The kitsune then hopped off of his seat and brought an armful of papers to the center table, spreading out what must have been the blueprints of the base, motioning the two other Mobians to gather around it.  
  
“Ok, so I managed to find an entrance using data collected from a couple of Sonic and Shadow’s previous scouting missions into the base Eggman is currently using…”  
  
  
\---  
  
  
A flash of yellow light and suddenly they were surrounded by the green of pine trees. Espio had travelled via chaos controlled before with Sonic but he didn’t think he’d ever quite get used to it. It always left him with a slight queasy feeling.   
  
Silver had dropped them about 80 yards away from the base. They could see the building but they themselves were concealed in the treeline.  
  
Espio wasted no time quickly scaling the closest tree (shockingly quickly, Silver observed) reaching the tallest branch and looking out over the top of the base to make sure there were no air units to worry about. They were in luck; the sky was clear and he could also see the vent that Tails had instructed him to sneak into that should hopefully lead him right to the doctor.  
  
Espio climbed back down the tree and landed gracefully in front of Silver who looked at him expectantly.  
  
“Alright, there’s the entrance Tails told us about.” Espio pointed out directly in front of them to the side of the base. “It seems as if there are no sentry bots around so entering should be the easy part. I’ll try to get in and out as quickly as possible. Hopefully you won’t have to wait too long. Once I have what I need I’ll come out the same way I went in.”  
  
“Roger.” Silver nodded, seemingly much more serious than he was in Tails’ lab when they first met.   
  
“Can you open that vent for me?” Espio tilted his head in the direction of the base.  
  
Silver nodded again, this time a tiny smile forming on his face as he stepped forward to the edge of the trees. He looked at the grate covering the vent and concentrated, his eyes narrowing a bit as he stared hard. There was a light blue energy that wisped around the gate and next thing Espio knew it popped off and fell to the ground, the sound being muffled by the grass below.   
  
“Impressive, you’ll have to tell me more about your powers when we’re done with this mission.” Espio gave Silver and approving look, the hedgehog’s face flushing slightly as he rubbed his arm bashfully.  
  
“Of course. Good luck, Espio.”  
  
Espio nodded back to his partner before seemingly disappearing right in front of him. Silver only catching the slightest movements of vegetation as he left the safety of the trees and started into the clearing.  
  
  
\---  
  
Espio was currently crawling through one of the main vents in the base, looking down through grate after grate hoping for something that might hint at Eggman’s intentions - or better yet, the doctor himself.  
  
He looked down into what appeared to be the main control room - monitors upon monitors were mounted on the walls and Robotnik was standing in front of the largest one which happened to be displaying a picture of... _Blaze?_   
  
“Here is the data on the individual who possesses the Sol Emeralds that you requested, sir.” Cubot said from his place next to Orbot a few feet behind Eggman, who gazed at the screen with his arms crossed behind him.  
  
“Ah yes...now that Miss Kitty is in our time, as guardian of the Sol Emeralds she must have brought them with her. With the combined power of the Chaos and Sol Emeralds, I shall harness their power together and create the ultimate super weapon. Who knows what kind of energy fusing them together will produce.”   
  
Eggman turned to face Cubot. “How is the collider coming along?”  
  
“It should be done within a few days, sir.”  
  
Espio’s tail curled and uncurled in thought as he contemplated what he was hearing.   
  
_“Fusing”? “Collider”?_   
  
“Excellent...with the energy I obtain from the fusion I should be able to destroy anything or anyone I want.” With that Eggman strode out of the room, his red coattails billowing behind him.  
  
Espio had what he needed, he started back in the direction he came.  
  
  
\---  
  
  
Espio wiggled back out of the entrance that Silver had opened for him, dropping the three or so feet to the ground still invisible and starting to make his way back to the tree line where his partner was waiting.  
  
He needed to get this message to Sonic, Shadow and Blaze so they can-  
  
That thought was interrupted when he felt metal slam into his abdomen, his body skidding across the ground to as stop in a cloud of dust.  
  
“ _Fuck_ …” Espio breathed, blinking rapidly trying to clear the dirt from his eyes, one of his hands went to his side where his body took the brunt of the hit, wincing in pain. His camouflage was gone the second he was hit.  
  
He looked up to see what had ambushed him; one of Eggman’s robots, must have been a damn heat-seeker too. He felt stupid for not noticing it before, he was too focused on getting back.  
  
This sentry was basically shaped like an egg on a tripod of legs, one of which was now poised above Espio, ready to be brought down upon him with crushing force.  
  
Espio braced for impact.  
  
But nothing.  
  
He opened his eyes to see the robot floating above him.  
  
He jumped to his feet and backed up from underneath the robot, noticing that it was now engulfed in a cyan aura.   
  
“Espio, look out!” Silver’s voice came from right behind him. Espio snapped his head back to see Silver, both arms outstretched and hands bearing the same energy.  
  
Espio continued to retreat to a few paces behind Silver, who had taken a couple paces closer to his metal opponent.   
  
Silver’s teeth were gritted together and his eyes narrowed in a strained but determined snarl. This was a complete 180 from the gregarious and excited young hedgehog he had met in Tails’ workshop.  
  
Espio blinked up at the robot, which he noticed was now starting to groan as if it was under immense pressure. He continued to watch as Silver growled with exertion as his fingers gradually curled towards his palms. He could see the exterior metal plates of the machine starting to unbolt and peel apart with every passing second.  
  
With one final cry, Silver suddenly threw his arms out wide and the robot was effectively sliced in half; right down the middle.  
  
It dropped unceremoniously to the ground with a dull thud and Silver allowed his arms to drop, the colored energy blinking out and a deep yet relieved sigh rumbling from his chest.  
  
“Oh man, that was a close one, are you ok?” Silver turned to a gaping Espio.  
  
“...You...just ripped a 2000 pound robot... in _half_.”   
  
“Well, I needed to protect my partner, didn’t I?” Silver smiled warmly.  
  
Espio blinked. _Who the hell was this kid?_  
  
“But seriously, let me see that…” Silver stepped closer and gestures to Espio’s ribs where the chameleon subconsciously still held with his hand. Espio reluctantly removed it to reveal a nasty scrape with a surrounding bruise that was growing darker by the second.  
  
“Oh man, that looks like it hurts...let’s get back to Tails to patch you up and give Tails the intel. Uh - I’m assuming there is intel?”  
  
Espio straightened and smiled softly at Silver “Yes, I got what we needed...now let’s get out of here before more robots find us.” Espio stopped and considered something silently.  
  
“I am worried however about Eggman finding this trashed robot and knowing that someone was sneaking around his base.” Espio eyed the still sparking remains of the machine.  
  
“Oh, let me take care of that.” Silver then held his hand out to the robot (now in two parts), lifted them into the air, brought his arm back as if he was pitching a baseball and launched the robot what must have been at least 200 yards into the forest.  
  
“Well... I suppose that’s one way to do it.” Espio chuckled.  
  
Silver took out the yellow Chaos Emerald he had hidden in his quills and offered his hand to Espio, who took it with a smile.  
  
“Chaos Control!”  
  
  
\---  
  
  
“So, Eggman is planning on combining the Chaos and Sol Emeralds’ power to create some kind of super weapon?”  
  
Espio and Silver nodded in unison, watching Tails furiously type notes on his main computer.  
  
“Chaos, who knows what would happen if he was actually able to do that…” Tails mused under his breath, his voice marred with concern. “Obviously we have to keep the Sol Emeralds as far away from the Chaos Emeralds as possible until we can destroy that collider you were referring to, Espio.” Tails pulled away from his desk to check the communicator and his wrist.  
  
“Sonic and Shadow won’t be back from their assignment until tomorrow morning. We should have Blaze keep the Sol Emeralds safe somewhere while the four of you storm the base and destroy the collider. Tails pulled up another file on his computer. “As far as we know, Sonic and Shadow each have one Chaos Emerald, and you also have one Silver and we have a Chaos Emerald here in the house.  
  
Silver gave an affirmative nod.  
  
“I’ll get Blaze on the phone and let her know what’s going on and what she needs to do. We should get a move on as early as possible. Would it be too much trouble to ask you guys to stay here tonight?” Tails looked at them with pleading blue eyes.  
  
“I _may_ also be worried about the possibility of one of Eggman’s goons coming for the Chaos Emerald we have here...and I guess I’m not used to not having Sonic around to be my backup…” the fox looked down, his tails seeming to come closer to his body.  
  
“Of course I can stay, Tails.” Silver smiled reassuringly to the young vulpine.  
  
“I as well. I also think it best to destroy this machine as soon as possible.” Espio stated from where he leaned against the doorframe, still cradling his side.  
  
Tails smiled gratefully. “Thanks you guys. One of you can have Sonic’s room and the other can have my room, I have a futon in here I can sleep on.”  
  
“Tails, Espio got hit pretty hard by one of Eggman’s robots, do you have a first aid kit around here?”  
  
  
\---  
  
Espio and Silver were perched on the couch in the living room, Espio sitting cross-legged facing the hedgehog who was now digging through the first aid kit Tails had provided him  
  
“How are you feeling?” Silver asked.  
  
“Not as bad as I first was. It’s gone down to a dull ache now.”  
  
Silver nodded thoughtfully as he handed Espio a few sterilizing wipes he had found and opened. “Here, use these to clean the area.”   
  
While his insides felt worse, he did sustain an abrasion where he was hit, some dried blood sticking to his scales.   
  
As Espio wiped his own blood off, his eyes flicked up to see Silver fussing with a wipe, seemingly trying to clean something out of his shawl of chest fur. It seems some sap from the trees they were taking cover in earlier may have made its way into his pelt.  
  
"I’ve always envied those with fur. It seems so much more... _pleasant_ to look at and touch." Espio offered, throwing away the now used wipe into the nearby waste basket and reaching for another.  
  
“Well I wouldn’t know if it were, I’ve actually never touched a reptile before. Chaos, I’ve never even _met_ one until I met you.” Silver smiled and looked to Espio. The older Mobian blinked and thought for a moment. He then surprised both of them by extending the arm closest to Silver out in front of the young hedgehog, seemingly offering him a chance to feel his scales.  
  
Silver’s eyes flashed to Espio’s for confirmation. When the chameleon nodded gently, Silver removed one of his gloves, then reached out and gingerly grazed a patch of Espio’s skin with just his finger tips at first.  
  
Espio’s scales were... surprisingly smooth and... _warm._ Nothing like he imagined it would be like. They laid flat against his body, each microscopic unit fit together so neatly, so in harmony with his body, much like Espio himself.  
  
“Oh wow…” Silver couldn’t stop the appreciative sigh that escaped his lips as he laid his whole palm on the reptile’s arm and traced his skin up to his bicep. Espio rotated his limb so Silver could feel how his skin got even smoother on the underside. Silver’s hand went all the way up to where the lizard’s arm connected to his torso. It was then that he registered Espio’s breath just barely hitching and he suddenly realized how close he was now leaning into the chameleon’s space.  
  
Silver sheepishly drew away, his hand going straight to the back of his head to fiddle with one of his quills there. “Uh, sorry, got carried away for a sec.” He offered a slightly embarrassed smile. “And I don’t know what you’re talking about...you feel nice.”   
  
Espio’s eyes widened slightly and his mouth parted just slightly. Silver could see a faint blush blossom on his cheeks as he looked down.  
  
“Uh...I-I mean your _scales_ feel nice. Much different than what I expected.” Silver could feel his own face flushing. Did he really just tell Espio he feels nice?   
  
“Thank you.” Espio could register his lips tugging up in an involuntary, decidedly _dopey_ smile.  
  
“Oh and you don’t need to worry about not having fur. You got it made with your scales - you never have to worry about your fur getting sticky,” he gestured to his own patch of chest fur with a slight eye roll, “taking forever to dry after a shower...having to get your wrist shaved if you go to the doctor and having to get blood drawn then having a weird bald patch.” Silver smiled reassuringly at Espio.   
  
Espio smiled and his hand went for one of the glasses of water that Tails had brought them that were resting on the coffee table. He dipped his fingers into the liquid, bringing his hand to the arm that Silver had touched and let a couple drops of water fall off his fingers and on to his skin.  
  
Silver’s eyes widened in delight when the water drops turned into beads upon Espio’s scales - if he looked closely he could see three distinct droplets of water, not even wetting the reptile’s skin.  
  
“Yes, I do tend to dry fast after showers.” Espio breathed a chuckle at Silver’s expression.  
  
“Woah, are you kidding me?! That’s amazing!”  
  
Espio felt himself melt a bit inside. No one had ever really appreciated his...uniqueness in this way before. Not another mammal, at least. Being surrounded by mostly warm-blooded creatures, a lot of them tended to shy away from topics such as this...it was refreshing to have Silver be so open and sincerely interested and curious.  
  
“ _Cute_ …” There was that thought again.  
  
“Well see? No need to envy fur then.” Silver winked, holding Espio’s eyes for a few seconds more before seemingly snapping back to reality, looking back down to the first aid kit. Espio could have sworn he saw a light blush dust the hedgehog’s muzzle.  
  
“Ok, now that you’ve cleaned it, hold these gauze pads and I’ll tape them.” Silver handed Espio two large swathes of gauze for him to hold over his wound.  
  
“I didn’t know you doubled as a medic.” Espio let a slight smile creep into his voice as he placed the first piece of gauze over his injured side.  
  
“I like patching people up, actually. Where I come from there’s so much destruction and pain. It’s nice to be able to contribute to something...healing, ya know? Even if it is in some small way.” Silver pulled some medical tape off the roll and ripped it with his teeth, leaning forward into Espio to secure the gauze. Espio felt his own body tense when the hedgehog entered his space again.  
  
“Ah yes, the time period you hail from. Blaze is from the same time, correct?”  
  
Silver nods as he bites off another piece of adhesive, sticking the second piece of gauze to the lizard.  
  
“Yeah, she’s my best friend. My sister, practically.”  
  
Espio raised an eye ridge in surprise. “Oh? I was under the impression that you two were...together.”  
  
Silver balled up the wrappers that the gauze came in, his eyes meeting Espio’s once more. “Oh, no, no. Like I said she’s basically my older sister...and she’s not really my... " _type"_ , if you know what I mean.” He chuckled nervously as he tossed the trash into the trash can.  
  
Espio’s eyes widened in embarrassment. “Oh, I’m sorry, that was rude of me to assume…”  
  
Silver waved him off dismissively with a gentle smile, starting to replace the items in the first aid bag.  
  
“That’s ok, I’ve been pretty open about it since I got here. It’s like I said, where I came from was basically a wasteland, being gay wasn’t really concerning to anyone while facing actual problems each day, ya know? Although I hear that might not be the case in this time period…” Silver looked up to Espio with questioning eyes, zipping up the bag.  
  
Espio smooths the bandage on his abdomen. “In some areas, yes. Although I personally haven’t had any trouble around here.  
  
Silver’s eyes seemed to blow with Espio’s admission but he didn’t say anything specifically about it as he looked down and combed his fingers through his sternum fluff.  
  
“Oh, well that’s good, then. Nothing’s worse than hiding who you are.” Again with the eye contact. No one’s looked this much as Espio for a long time. Except for maybe Shadow, but then that was more of a threatening glare, nothing like Silver’s transparently positive gaze. Him and Silver had a similar eye color, Silver’s a bit lighter and Espio’s with darker flecking.  
  
“Ok, you’re all done, just try not to sleep on that side.”   
  
Espio stood up from the couch stretching his back as he did, Silver noticing with interest that his ebony back spines stood up taller when he did so.   
  
“Well...I suppose we should get some rest for tomorrow.”  
  
Silver was snapped out of his brief distracted state by Espio’s voice. There he goes staring at the reptile’s back again.   
  
“Yeah, for sure.” Silver placed the med kit on the coffee table and stood up as well, yawning as he leaned down to grab the glove that he had placed on the floor. Espio was almost out of the doorway when he turned around and smiled.  
  
“Oh and thanks again for the save, Silver.You make a great partner.”  
  
Silver couldn’t help the stupid smile that overcame his voice. “Y-Yeah, don’t mention it.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’ll be honest; at first glance I thought he was just another preppy boy who wanted to join the team just for actions’ sake... but he really proved himself. It is certainly refreshing to be around someone capable who takes a mission seriously after working with Vector and Charmy for so long.” Espio caught sight of Shadow out of his peripheral vision - the corner of the hedgehog’s mouth turned up in a knowing smirk. Espio’s brow furrowed in confusion.
> 
> “What?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 ya'll! I'm actually really proud of myself that I got this up so soon lol. There's a little side Sonadow here but the story doesn't focus on it. Enjoy!

Silver awoke the next morning to the soft murmuring of distant voices. His ear on the side he wasn’t lying on swiveled towards the bedroom door, since his back was turned to it.

He eventually recognized the voices as Sonic, Shadow and Tails. From the bits of the muted conversation he was picking up they appeared to be discussing the day’s mission.

Silver reluctantly got up, pulling on his socks, shoes and gloves as well as fussing over his quills in the mirror for longer than he cared to admit. He really did love his quill style but _Chaos_ they took a lot of energy to maintain. Regardless, he figured he’d oblige his vanity since Espio would be waking up and coming out of Tails’ room any minute now...

_“Wait...why do I care?”_ Silver gulped down the fizzing feeling in his stomach and turned away from the mirror to head downstairs.

\---

“I think I may have pinpointed the location of the collider within Eggman’s base. Well, below Eggman’s base.”

Tails, Sonic, Shadow, Silver and Espio (who Silver had given a shy smile and “good morning” when he had walked into the workshop) were all crowded around the main table in the workroom, the same blueprints from yesterday spread open before them.

“Upon further inspection I discovered the presence of a large underground portion of the base, kind of like a bunker. This sub level appears to span the entire length of the base, so my educated guess is that is where the collider must be housed.” Tails brushed the bangs out of his eyes tiredly, he had clearly been up way too late planning this.

“Your guys’ objective will be to enter the base and destroy the collider. Since I don’t know its mechanical makeup, you guys will have to make a judgement call of how best to dispose of it, however I will be giving you a remote bomb and a detonator strong enough to do the trick... so you guys don’t have to be anywhere near the resulting explosion. The amount of energy this is designed to handle, I don’t imagine it can be wrecked with a Chaos Blast.” The fox’s blue eyes flicked to Shadow, who just nodded in acknowledgement.

“Sonic and Silver, you two will provide a distraction on the top level of the base farthest away from the bunker to draw the sentries away from Shadow and Espio, who will find the collider, plant the bomb and detonate it when everyone has evacuated.”

“We can do that! Shads is always telling me what a distraction I am.” Sonic flutters his eyelashes across the table at Shadow who merely lifts an eyebrow - so used to the blue hedgehog’s antics by now that he doesn’t even have the energy to snarl at everything he says anymore.

“Seems pretty straightforward, you can count on us Tails.” Silver smiles confidently and Espio can’t help but appreciate his positivity.

“I’ll be running coms if anything comes up - you guys got this.”

\---

A flash of red this time - and the four Mobians land in nearly the same spot Espio and Silver landed 24 hour earlier.

Shadow turned to face the other two hedgehogs. “Ok; Sonic, Silver, you warp to the roof and await our signal. We’ll let you know when we’re in position.”

“Yes sir!” Sonic mock-saluted Shadow with a playful smile. Shadow rolled his eyes before Sonic came to him, wrapping his arms around the black hedgehog’s neck. Shadow’s hand came up to cup Sonic’s cheek, the blue hedgehog leaning forward and nuzzling into boyfriend’s muzzle.

“Be careful, okay?”

“Of course. Don’t pull anything too risky.”

Espio merely stared off into the distance, pretending not to notice the open display of affection and Silver suddenly found is chest fur very interesting.

They of course knew that the two hedgehogs were together - they have been for a few months - but it was still… _odd_....seeing them be tender towards each other after so many years of being at each other’s throats. It was going to take some getting used to.

The hedgehogs break apart from their embrace. Sonic looked to Espio. “I’m counting on you Espio, make sure he doesn’t get into too much trouble.”

Espio merely nodded seriously. “Of course.”

Sonic grinned and throwing one more wink Shadow’s way, grabbed Silver’s outstretched hand and the two hedgehogs disappeared in a flash of yellow.

\---

“I understand you encountered some trouble at the end of your mission yesterday.”

Shadow and Espio made their way down the vent that would hopefully take them to the area that the collider was being held. Unlike the one that Espio had to crawl through yesterday, these vents were much roomier to properly ventilate a bunker this far underground, so they were able to walk, if slightly hunched over, side by side.

“Indeed. A heat-seeking robot almost crushed me, had Silver not destroyed it.” Espio looked down, recalling the sight of Silver standing over him, protecting him. “That hedgehog is...surprisingly powerful.”

Shadow gave a slight hum in agreement, but didn’t add anything.

“I’ll be honest; at first glance I thought he was just another preppy boy who wanted to join the team just for actions’ sake... but he really proved himself. It is certainly refreshing to be around someone capable who takes a mission seriously after working with Vector and Charmy for so long.” Espio caught sight of Shadow out of his peripheral vision - the corner of the hedgehog’s mouth turned up in a knowing smirk. Espio’s brow furrowed in confusion.

“What?”

“Nothing that’s important right now.” Shadow said cryptically as he stopped in front of a vent opening covered by a grate.

“This is it.”

Shadow and Espio were poised outside a vent that overlooked the bunker that Tails had directed them to. He was right; the collider was there, and it was _huge_. Probably the length of half a football field and at least 10 feet tall and 10 feet wide, taking up most of the room. It basically looked like a giant, overly-complicated metal cylinder with a divot right in the middle where Eggman was planning on placing the Chaos and Sol Emeralds to fuse their energies.

Shadow lifted his communicator that was snug on his wrist.

“We’re in position. Go for distraction.”

\---

“So, uh, how long have you known Espio for?” Silver and Sonic had been standing by on the roof of the base for several minutes, which was too long for both of the impatient hedgehogs.

“Oh, me and Es go way back.” Sonic answered as he peered down the air duct they were planning on entering through when Shadow gave the signal.

“Oh so I’m guessing you know him pretty well then…” Silver wanted to ask about Espio but didn’t want to come off as weirdo or anything.

“Yup - he’s a really good guy. Doesn’t say much, kinda like Shadow but not as mean, heh.”

“Right...Soooo does he live around here?” Silver was facing away from Sonic, looking out from the top of the building but his ears were swiveled back, eagerly awaiting the blue hedgehog’s reply.

Sonic’s own ears perked up and a coy smile played at his lips.

“Yep, he sure does…”

Silver kicked at some stray pinecones that had collected on the roof. “Oh, that’s cool...does he live with a roommate or…?”

Sonic brought his hand up to his face and hid his smile behind his hand. Chaos, Silver was obvious.

“He lives in an apartment above the detective agency he co-operates, no ‘room mate’ though.”

“Oh...cool.” Silver continued to face away from Sonic, trying to play it casual. It appeared to be working so far.

“So... why all this interest in our handsome chameleon friend? Are you... _interested_?" At the change in tone Silver turned to face Sonic, who waggled his eyebrows suggestively. Silver’s face flushed crimson, his ears flattened against his head in embarrassment. Sonic could see right through him. It was that easy, huh?

“I...uh…”

_“We’re in position. Go for distraction.”_ Saved by the bell. Or in this case, by the communicator.

“ROGER!” Silver squeaked a bit too loudly into his wrist device, hastily ripping off the grate to the ceiling vent, sending it flying off the roof and into the woods with a flick of his wrist. He levitated and flew in, jumping at the chance to escape this mortifying realization.

\---

Shadow and Espio could see from their hiding place in the vent all of the guard bots simultaneously vacate their posts and run to the platform elevator on the opposite side of the room which jettisoned them upwards; presumably towards Silver and Sonic.

“Ok, let’s get this over with.” Shadow tilted his head towards the grate.

Espio nodded,, removing one of his gloves to pick the screws out of their place holding the grate to the vent with his naturally long claws. Shadow’s brows quirked, he seemed impressed as Espio quickly dislodged the cover and held the grate steady in his hand to avoid it crashing to the floor and alerting any guards.

“Ready?”

\---

Silver slowed his momentum with his powers before he hit the floor, Sonic landing next to him gracefully.

“Man I wish I could do that, it would be easier on my ankles…” Sonic stood up tall and stretched luxuriously as he continued, “Now what kind of distraction shall we grace Eggman’s base with today, Silver?”

Silver blinked dumbly. “I honestly don’t think that Eggman will like anything that we do-”

“It was a joke, Silver. Yeesh. Sometimes I forget how dense you are.” Sonic rolled his eyes, cocking his hip out to the side.

Silver didn’t get a chance to respond to the comment before the room of the door that they were standing in suddenly opened with a _WHOOSH,_ a stream of robots heading straight towards them at top speed.

\---

Espio slunk out of the vent first, crawling down the wall until he was at a good angle to jump down and onto the middle platform of the collider that was likely designed to hold the emeralds.

Shadow wasn’t far behind. He joined Espio in a flash of chaos energy and carefully placed the bomb in the center of the platform; right in the midsection of the machine.

He was just about to call Sonic and Silver and give them the order to evacuate when he noticed the elevator on the far side of the room activating again, this time bringing down an enormous robot with it.

\---

“Uh, why are they leaving?” Silver called in a concerned voice after the robot he had thrown against the wall had picked itself up and skittered back from where it came. Sonic finished a robot off with a spin dash, the blue hedgehog uncurled to see that indeed, the small army of robots they had been battling were retreating out of the room at top speed, and he knew it wasn’t because they were surrendering.

“Because Shadow and Espio got caught. Let’s go!”

\---

“Espio, tell Sonic and Silver to evacuate, let’s handle this and get the hell out of here!”

“Roger!” Espio brought his wrist to his mouth to speak into his communicator. “Silver, our position has been given away, evacuate immediately, meet at the rendezvous point.”

Espio listened expectantly, but nothing.

“Silver, do you copy?”

Nothing but static.

“Sonic, do you copy?”

Did something happen to them? Espio didn’t have time to wonder before he caught sight of the massive robot coming their way; one of the tripods that he and Silver had faced yesterday. He thought it would be a simple matter of taking down this one sentry.  
That was until the robot stopped in its tracks, on the floor from where they stood on top of the collider, and let down a ramp from its middle to the ground. Then what seemed like hundreds of miniature versions of it came crawling out. Like baby spiders out of an egg sac.

“I can’t Chaos Blast or I’ll set the bomb off with us here, we need to neutralize this and find Sonic and Silver!” Shadow called over his shoulder.

Espio nods, watching the horde of miniscule robots scuttling towards them.

“Protect the bomb, make sure they can’t disable it, I’ll do my best to keep them at bay. Keep trying Sonic and Silver on your communicator!” Shadow leapt off the collider, throwing a hail of chaos spears down upon the miniature army. It took out some, but there seemed to be more where those came from.

Before Shadow could land, he chaos controlled in front of the main robot, delivering a vicious kick, sending it flying backwards into the door it had entered from.

A few of the robots were starting to make their way up the collider, crawling and chirping and sparking towards Espio. From where he was positioned in front of the bomb, he whirled around, uncurling his tail and using its length to send some of the bots flying back down to the ground. They weren’t all that sturdy, but there where _a lot._

Still more came.

Espio glanced back down to Shadow who was still trying to deduce the best way to destroy the mini bots efficiently; It was like battling a sea of ants.

Despite Espio stomping at the approaching robots furiously, a few of them managed to hop on and latch to his arms, the chameleon biting some of them off with his teeth while he continued to kick and flail. He didn’t have appropriate weaponry for this. How was a shuriken supposed to help with this?

Again his eyes flicked to Shadow, who was quite in the same position he was. Next thing he knew Shadow was warping next to him, bringing some of the mini bots that were attached to his own fur.

“Never thought there’d be something too small for me to fight.” Shadow gasped as the bulk of the bots were making their way up the side of the machine.

“Should we retreat?” Espio panted out between kicks.

“Not an option; we won’t be able to get back in here undetected a second time, we have to destroy this _now_.” Shadow punctuated the last word with another round of chaos spears.

Espio could feel the bots now crawling up his back. He didn’t know what to do - what could he do? What was happening with Silver and Sonic? He couldn’t leave the bomb either, he-

“AH!” Espio cried out in pain as he felt the trifecta legs on the robots start to puncture his skin. This was bad. He could see Shadow snarling out of fury, sending Chaos energy flying everywhere. If he kept that up he would be spent in no time, Ultimate Lifeform or not, there were no rings around to replenish him. The hedgehog wouldn’t chance taking off his inhibitor rings either, lest it detonate the bomb and blow up all four of them in the process.

Espio dropped to his knees and raked his hands up and down his body trying to dislodge the bots. Their claws dug deeper into his flesh and he felt a sharp stinging all over his body. He clenched his eyes shut in agony, still willing his body to keep moving no matter what.

And then it was quiet.

Suddenly the din of a thousand tiny legs and the horrible screech of metal on metal was blotted out. His own ragged breathing was all he could hear for a moment. Like he was behind some kind of sound barrier...

For the second time in the last 48 hours Espio looks up to find that Silver has saved his ass. This was getting embarrassing.

The light grey male was standing over all of them, Sonic included, arms extended straight up, holding up a blue forcefield energy shield around them.

Esio glanced and saw that Sonic was busy pulling Shadow into a standing position, furiously ripping the remaining bots off his body. Once they were all off, Shadow pulled out his Chaos Emerald, still panting from exertion.

Shadow and Sonic linked hands, Shadow grabbing Espio’s arm with his other hand and quickly hauling him from the floor while Sonic grabbed hold of Silver’s shoulder.

“Chaos Control!”

\---

With a flash of red and flickering of cyan, all four Mobians were back in their original position of the woods. Shadow reached into his quills and hastily pulled out the detonator remote.

Without ceremony he pressed the button and, uh, yeah, Espio was extremely glad Sonic and Silver had caught up with them because the entire ground rattled beneath their feet. Their collective attention turned to the base, which now that the foundation was caving in, the rest of the building was starting to come down with a deeply alarming thundering noise. The mushroom cloud of dust and debris could probably be seen for miles.

“Let’s get the hell out of here.” Shadow held out his hand once again.

\---

“Well done you guys, I should send you four on missions together more often.” Tails was updating some records on his computer while Sonic and Silver worked to patch up some of the wounds that Shadow and Espio had sustained. Nothing serious, thankfully, but they did have several small puncture wounds from the fleet of mini bots.

Once that was taken care of Shadow got to his feet from his seat on the futon in the workshop.

“Well now that Eggman’s latest toy has been reduced to ashes, I think it’s time to head home. Come on Sonic, I’m in need of a hot shower.”

“Oh I’ll show you a hot show-” Sonic was cut off by Shadow dragging him out of the workshop by the wrist, pushing him out the door ahead of him. The black hedgehog turned back to regard Espio who sat alone on the futon, Silver having gotten up a moment ago to run to the restroom,

Shadow tilted his head in the direction the grey hedgehog had gone and mouthed the words “phone number” before stepping over the threshold and shutting the door behind him, leaving just Espio and Tails in the workshop, the fox still busy typing away at his mission notes.

Espio flushed in humiliation, so that’s what Shadow was smirking about at the base. How dare he assume such a thing? Just because Silver was attractive and powerful and kind and-

_...fuck._

Espio stood up and made his way up the flight of steps into the house portion of the building, nearly running into a certain grey hedgehog in the hallway.

“Oh! Sorry, didn’t see you there. I guess you really are good at this whole sneaking around thing.” Silver smiled and Espio noticed the way his ears lowered ever-so-slightly in response to being in such close proximity to each other.

“No apology needed. I just came to say goodbye, It was a pleasure working with you.”

Silver’s ears drooped this time, Espio noticing the slight bit of disappointment that flitted through his golden eyes.

“Oh, right. Yeah, you’re an awesome partner to have.” Silver tugged on his glove cuff nervously.

Oh, Chaos damn it.

“P-perhaps we should exchange numbers... just in case we’re called to work together again.” Espio winced at his own awkward phrasing and could swear he heard Shadow’s dark chuckle in his head. Hell, he was bad at this.

Any sense of awkwardness dissipated though as Silver’s face lit up as if Espio had told him he won the lottery.

“D-definitely! Here-” Silver brought his boot up and pulled his cell phone out, tapping at it for a moment before handing it to Espio on the New Contact screen to enter his information. Once the chameleon was done he pulled out his cellphone from his glove bracer and navigated to the same screen. He handed the hedgehog the phone who eagerly typed in his number then handed it back to the Espio who regarded it with thinly-veiled amusement.

“You added a smiley face.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all who have read this! Just a reminder I'm not above asking for comments - they are greatly appreciated! Come talk to me on tumblr, I am under the username missile--toe. Hope you guys liked this chapter, the next one will be up probably within a week <3


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Ok then, all you have to do is go up to him and ask him to dance.”
> 
> Silver’s fingers ceased their jittering as he looked up at Sonic in alarm. “Dance?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess you guys get to be spoiled with an earlier update since I found some time to write! Enjoy!

**Silver =-)**

_ Hey!! Hows ur side feeling? _

**Espio**

_ Even better than yesterday, thank you. I don’t think my ribs would have survived another direct hit, so I have you to thank for not having internal bleeding. _

**Silver =-)**

_ Good!! Dont mention it!! =-) _

It had been three days since Espio had received that last text from Silver and that had been the day after they destroyed the collider. The detective was currently poring over a case file...well,  _ trying  _ to... but his thoughts were muddled. He should really text Silver...but what if he was reading into the situation too closely? He had a habit of doing that. No...if anything he had to observe more, he had to-

In an act of providence, the universe decided for him. His phone vibrated from where it was laying face down on the edge of his work desk. He snatched the phone up faster than he cared to admit and couldn’t help but notice the vague buzzing in his gut when he read the message.

**Silver =-)**

_ Hi Espio!! Me n Sonic will b dropping by soon…..Vector asked 2 borrow some of Tails city maps for idk something?? we were on a run nways so we r dropping off the stuff at ur place in sec =-) _

It was a comically short time later that he heard Sonic barge in through the front door of the agency, Silver trailing right behind him.

“Hey Es, Vector around?” Sonic sauntered up to the corner desk that Espio was working at, Silver following behind him and giving a small, bashful wave and smile to the chameleon.

“Hi Espio, sorry to bother you.”

“There’s no bother, Silver. And Vector and Charmy are actually out running some errands right now so it’s just me.” Espio picked up his stack of papers, straightening them in neat pile and placing them in a manilla folder.

“You can just leave those with me if you want, I’ll make sure he gets them.”

Sonic handed over the papers and after a moment of silence while Espio walked over to Vector’s desk he looked to Silver expectantly. When the grey hedgehog didn’t say anything but merely tugged nervously on his glove Sonic rolled his eyes dramatically. 

“Can Silver use your bathroom? He’s too embarrassed to ask.” Silver elbowed Sonic in the ribs viciously as his muzzle flushed.

“Dude...not cool.”

Espio chuckled as he leaned against Vector’s desk, extending his arm down the hallway on the opposite side of the room.

“Last door on your left.”

“Thanks…” Silver murmured, making a point to stomp on one of Sonic’s shoes as he walked past him and down the hallway.

“Love you too, bro.” Sonic smirked as he watched the other hedgehog retreat out of sight. Espio gave the hedgehog a look as if to ask why he was being so rude.

“What? He’s gotta learn to not be so awkward as some point.” Sonic merely shrugged. 

“Actually, speaking of which, we’re having a birthday party for Amy at Club Rouge tomorrow night. I know it’s kinda short notice, we just decided to do it today, but you should come!”

Espio looked apprehensive. “Oh, well, thank you, Sonic...but I’m never really much fun in those kinds of social situations…” the chameleon trailed off, his eyes focusing on something on the far side of the room.

“Oh come on man, Rouge is closing it to the public so it will just be our friends who already know you’re a little weird.” Sonic had stepped forward and flicked Espio’s horn playfully. The reptile batted Sonic’s hand away and rubbed his own arm hesitantly. 

Seeing he hadn’t gotten through to him just yet, Sonic smirked a bit before adding,

“Silver will be there.”

Espio peered at Sonic through the corner of his eye, trying to keep his body language casual. “Oh?”

“Yup. And I have a feeling you’d like to hang out with him again, maybe this time outside of missions?” Sonic’s voice went up an octave, his voice dripping with implication.

Espio raised an eye ridge. “What makes you think that?”

“Shadow  _ may _ have hinted that you kinda maybe are totally crushing on him.” Sonic grinned unabashedly as Espio buried his face in his hands in mortification, sighing deeply.

“Hey no need to sweat it, I get the feeling that he likes you too.”

Espio peeked at the hedgehog through his fingers. “And what makes you think that?”

“That’s classified.” Sonic adjusted the cuff of his glove coyly. “Just come to the party and hang out with him. I know he’d love it. Also be sure to invite Vector too. I would say Charmy too if it weren’t at a club.”

Espio’s eyes flicked to the hallway where he could hear Silver padding back towards them.

“Fine.”

\---

“Do you want a shot to get you started, honey?” Rouge addressed Silver as she poured liquor into two shot glasses for Sonic and Shadow who were sitting on one side of the grey hedgehog at the bar.

“Uh, I dunno…” They had arrived at the club just a few minutes ago and were among the first to arrive so it was still quiet while mainly Vanilla and Blaze, who had offered her help when they arrived, were finishing up the final touches to the decorations.

“What’s the matter Silver? Did you not have alcohol where you come from?” Sonic quirked his head as Rouge slid his glass to him.

“We did…” Silver started cautiously, eyeing the bottle of tequila warily. “But it was almost guaranteed to give you dysentery.”

Rouge snorted out a laugh at that.

“No need to worry about that, sugar. Only the finest alcohol is allowed in my establishment. Just have a nip of this, I promise it’s better than any bootleg crap you’ve had to stomach before.” Rouge topped off a third shot glass and slid it to Silver with a wink.

Silver was still apprehensive, but he figured since everyone else was going to drink he should as well. Anything to make him feel less awkward.

“Take a deep breath in through your nose, out through your mouth, try to get it all in one swallow and chase it with this.” Rouge set a glass of lemon lime soda down in front of him with a reassuring smile.

Sonic gave him an encouraging nod and Shadow peered over the top of his glass of whisky (he had long since downed his shot) with mild interest.

Silver did what he was told and threw his head back, managing to swallow the stuff in one swig. It burned his throat of course but he had tasted worse. He still didn’t know why people actually liked this stuff. His eyes watered and he coughed as he grabbed the soda and slurped down half of it.

“Wow, you took it like a champ, good job, baby boy.” Rouge smiled and patted his shoulder.

\---

Two hours and a few more shots of tequila later the party was now in full swing. Silver had stuck to the bar but was now turned around on the swivel stool talking with Knuckles and Sonic, Shadow having retreated to a corner booth when it had started to get crowded. 

Silver’s attention was suddenly drawn to the door to the club opening. Espio walked in followed by a... _ woah _ , that guy was  _ huge.  _ Was he an alligator? A crocodile? Whatever he was he had to be at least a solid foot taller than Espio and they were both wearing matching leather jackets with the same Chaotix logo that Silver had seen yesterday at the detective agency. Then that must make the larger reptile Espio’s boss. 

Silver continued to watch as the two reptiles split, Vector headed to the bar and Espio making his way to the back booth where Shadow was seated and sliding in the seat across from the 

dark hedgehog.

“Silver...Mobius to Silver!” 

Silver blinked rapidly and refocused his attention on Sonic, noting that Knuckles had retreated to the other side of the bar to lean across and speak to Rouge, who was now serving Vector two drinks.

“Huh?” 

“What are you ogling at-” Sonic turned around and caught sight of the purple chameleon talking with Shadow through the crowd. His confused expression turning into a shit-eating grin.

“Oh, well that explains it.”

Silver blushed hard, hiding behind his mixed drink. “Shut up.”

“Oh don’t be like that. Espio won’t notice you like that. You want him to notice you, right?

Silver blinked and shot a glance over in the stoic chameleon’s direction.

“I mean, yeah but I’d rather have him kiss me, ya know?”

Sonic dragged his hand down his face in an exaggerated display. “That’s what I meant, Silver.”

“Oh. Well in that case, yeah. But I’ve never really...had a lot of experience with this kind of stuff. How do I let him know that I’m interested without looking like an idiot?” Silver’s fingers had started to anxiously drum on his glass.

“Ok then, all you have to do is go up to him and ask him to dance.”

Silver’s fingers ceased their jittering as he looked up at Sonic in alarm. “Dance?”

“Exactly!” Sonic said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Well...what if he says no? I don’t think I could live with that kind of embarrassment…”

Sonic’s brows knitted together in a perturbed expression. “Uh Silver, have you ever looked at yourself? There’s no way on Mobius he would say no.”

“What do you mean?” Silver tilted his head.

Sonic rolled his eyes. “I _ mean _ you’re a cute guy! That fur, that waist, those eyes!? Come on, Espio won’t stand a chance.”

“I’m...cute?” He’s been called cute before...by Rouge. But not by a male. Then again he hasn’t really had much time to socialize in that way; ya know, protecting the world from evil through time and all that. He never stopped to consider the possibility that he may actually be attractive.

“Chaos Silver, it’s called a  _ mirror _ . Get one sometime, alright? Anyways, watch me for a bit, do what I do and I promise you’ll get that kiss you want.”

And with that, Sonic spun around on his heel, smoothly placing his now-empty glass on a random table and strode towards the back boothe that was littered with shot glasses. Vector must have dropped off some liquor for Espio before he went to go flirt with Vanilla at one of the larger tables.

Silver watched intently as Sonic marched right up into Shadow’s personal bubble, leaning over the table suggestively. One hand came up to rest on Shadow’s shoulder.

Silver couldn’t hear it over the music but he could practically see the pleased growl leave Shadow’s mouth as the striped hedgehog turned in the booth and grabbed the blue hedgehog roughly and possessively by the hips. 

Espio merely rolled his eyes. 

Sonic then leaned in and whispered something into Shadow’s ear and began to walk backwards onto the dance floor, leading his boyfriend up from his seat.

Once they got to the dance floor, Sonic turned around so his back was pressed to Shadow’s front and they started to move to the music.

Silver was already blushing from his seat and felt like he couldn’t feel his face. He was going to need more alcohol before he attempted anything remotely resembling this with Espio.

He spun around in his chair and caught Rouge’s eye with a shy smile.

“Hey handsome, what can I get you?”

“Uh, I need another tiny glass of that...really really gross stuff you gave me earlier.”

“Oh? I didn’t think you’d actually ask for more all by yourself.” Rouge smiled but was already pouring Silver another shot of tequila.

“Yeah well, I could really use the courage right now…” Silver’s head turned to glance in Espio’s direction, Rogue’s teal eyes following his gold ones.

“Ah, I see.” Rouge smiled and slid the shot glass to Silver who threw it back faster than he should have. He got up quickly, before he could have a chance to change his mind.

“Go get him, tiger.” Rouge winked.

“I’m actually a hedge-”

Rouge gave him a deadpan look. Silver blinked. “Right, I’ll work on that.” He grinned sheepishly and worked his way to the back booth were Espio was scrolling idly on his phone and sipping some sake. 

“Hey Espio.” He smiled wider than he thought may be necessary at the moment.

Espio looked up from his phone and smiled at the hedgehog. “Hey Silver, how have you been?” 

Silver took a seat, but instead of sliding in across from the chameleon he sat on the same side, feeling Espio tense a bit when their shoulders brushed.

“Pretty good.” Silver leaned an elbow on the table and supported his chin in his palm. “I was wondering, dooo you maybe wanna dance. With me?”

Espio’s eyes locked onto the grey hedgehog’s, who was maintaining strong eye contact, thinking back to what Sonic had mentioned earlier about having faith in his looks and natural charm.

Espio’s tail flicked excitedly. He had a whisky, his sake and one shot so far. He grabbed the shot that Shadow had abandoned on the table when he was whisked away by Sonic. Silver was impressed that he didn’t need a chaser.

Espio tilted his head towards the dance floor with a flirtatious grin “Shall we?” 

_ He said yes, holy crap he’s actually going to dance with me! _

Silver nodded excitedly and jumped up and oh  _ chaos _ that alcohol was starting to hit him, he lost his balance for a second and almost tripped over his own boots.

Him and Espio made their way to the dance floor, where Sonic and Shadow and few other of their friends were dancing to the music that was beating so hard it felt like the floor was shaking, which didn’t really help make Silver feel any more steady.

He turned to Espio once they reached a good spot and, fueled by the alcohol thrumming through his system, reached out to Espio first. He imitated Sonic, placing a hand on the chameleon’s shoulder and one lightly on his hip. It was dark in there and the flashing colors made it hard to tell for sure but he could have sworn Espio looked distinctly more pink than purple at the moment. 

Silver  _ had _ actually danced before, believe it or not. He did live in a post-apocalyptic world, and where’s there’s a post-apocalyptic hellscape there will be post-apocalyptic raves. He had danced several times with Blaze, but of course that was Blaze, this was someone he was actually looking to impress. He willed himself to dance as if he was dancing with her, and with the tequila loosening his body up he started moving to the beat. 

Espio’s eyes were the size of dinner plates by now and Silver couldn’t help but giggle loudly. 

“You’re cute when you look like that!” He had to shout over the music.

Espio blushed but wasn’t about to let Silver get the upper hand. He smirked, leaned down and brushed a (probably damp with sweat) quill that had been threatening to flop in the hedgehog’s face behind his ear.

Silver’s giggling stopped and his muzzle flushed.

Sometimes less is more.

The grey hedgehog swallowed thickly and then turned on his heel, flattening his quills safely against his back so there was no chance of sticking his partner, angling it so his rear was flush with Espio’s pelvis, his tail brushing one of the chameleon's thighs.

Espio had to restrain himself from moaning with the sudden contact. 

Silver felt his breath hitch when he felt Espio’s hand snake around his waist from behind. He looked up briefly to see Sonic catch his eye and toss a thumbs up and give a lewd-looking wink. Good, so he wasn’t making a  _ complete _ fool of himself yet.

He decided to press his luck further, copying what he had seen Sonic do to Shadow and Rouge do to Knuckles earlier - he laid a slightly-shaky hand over Espio’s hand that was resting on his hip bone, his other hand reaching just a bit behind him to graze Espio’s thigh. He felt the reptile inhale sharply and lower his head to the crook of Silver’s shoulder - his wicked-looking horn coming into his peripheral vision. 

Silver shuddered when he felt Espio’s breath fanning out on the side of his neck. That simple sensation sending his heart into overdrive faster than all the thundering music, blinding lights and liquor could.

Espio heard the tiny gasp that Silver emitted, causing his mouth to drop open slightly, his instincts begging him to kiss Silver’s neck, whisper in his ear,  _ bite him _ , do something, anything!

Silver’s half-lidded eyes caught Rouge elbowing Knuckles at the bar, tilting her head in their direction with an amused yet very pleased expression on her face. She had been saying that Espio needed to loosen up for awhile now. Knuckles turned around in his bar stool and caught sight of the chameleon and hedgehog dancing together and let a satisfied smirk break across his face.

Rouge giving Silver an enthusiastic nod spurred him to arch his back into Espio’s body.

Espio couldn’t stop it in time; he  _ moaned _ right into Silver’s ear. His tail subconsciously coming around to wrap its way up one of Silver’s legs up to the middle of his thigh, gripping it gently yet firmly.

Well, Silver didn’t know that his friend’s tail could be used for  _ that. _

The hedgehog shivered under the touch. He spun around to face Espio who looked looking... _ flushed.  _ Wait, was he really looking like that or was that just the lighting in the club? Why did it have to be so dark in here anyways? The shapes of tables and bodies were starting to blend together and Silver’s eyes refused to focus.

Silver leaned in, if not unintentionally because standing was seeming to get harder and harder to do by the second, getting dangerously close to the chameleon’s face. The hedgehog started to notice that his abdomen felt heavy, like he had eaten a stone.

“Silver?” Espio reached out a steadying hand.

That’s when his stomach did a backflip. His hand came up to clamp over his mouth, his eyes going wide in panic.

It was too much. The strobing lights, the invasive sound that wouldn’t stop running circuiting through him, too many bodies in one place. Too much too much too much.

He didn’t even try to make it to the bathroom on the other side of the club, he went straight for the front doors.

Between his retching his heard Espio calling to him.

“Silver, are you ok?”

Silver couldn’t manage to answer through his dry heaves. 

When his diaphragm finally stopped spasming he turned from the alleyway he had ducked into and crouched down, going to his knees. His head was spinning and it didn’t feel like it would ever stop. He didn’t wanna feel like this anymore, he wanted to feel normal, he expelled everything in his body, why didn’t he feel better?

He didn’t even notice that Espio had knelt down next to him, one arm slung underneath him to support his weight.

This is where his memory starts to fail him. He managed to catch scraps of conversation through the haze.

“Is he ok?”

“Oh honey…”

“Blaze already left because she wasn’t feeling well…I guess she wasn’t expecting him to drink this much?”

“Do you know where he lives?”

“You’re in no position to drive, I’ll take him back to my place.

The last thing Silver remembered was the sensation of being lifted into strong, warm arms as he into faded oblivion.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Silver is my son, btw.
> 
> Come chat with me on tumblr, I am on their as missile--toe !
> 
> If you can please leave a comment, they really keep me going! <3
> 
> Next update should be posted within the week :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Are you Espio’s boyfriend?”
> 
> Silver choked on some saliva as his muzzle flushed beet red and his eyes widened to the size of saucers.
> 
> “What?! No! We’re just friends.”
> 
> Charmy rolled his eyes dramatically. “Suuuure…” his voice dripped with sarcasm. “Then why are you sleeping in his bed?” Charmy was blunt in the way that only a child could be and it only served to fluster Silver more.

A low thrumming in his skull. An acidic burn in his throat. 

Silver knew he would have to open his eyes and face reality sooner or later, but he’d much rather drift back into the comfort of sleep, away from the pain that was awaiting him in the waking world.

Despite his desires, slumber ebbed away from the corners of his eyes and his senses started to detect things other than his own sad physical state. The cheerful chirping of morning birds to his right, the faint yet enticing smell of cooking meat to his left and the soothing sensation of being cocooned in a down comforter.

Wait...he didn’t own a down comforter.

Silver’s eyes flew open and he bolted upright into a sitting position. He regretted this action immediately as his head pounded like his cranium was too small for his brain and his stomach churned uneasily in protest.

Silver brought his hands up to cradle his head and kept his eyes squeezed shut until the dizzy spell fizzled out.

When he didn’t feel like he was going to black out, Silver opened his eyes and peered around the room gingerly.

This was most certainly _not_ his room.

It was small but tidy, minimal decoration - very spartan - but there were two large windows that bathed the room in sunshine, giving it a very pleasant and refreshing atmosphere.

What had happened last night? Where was he exactly? Silver looked away from the windows only to notice a pair of gloves and bracers laid neatly on the bedside table next to his own.

They were Espio’s.

Oh, _shit._

“Oh no, no no no no…” Seriously, what the hell happened? Where was Espio? And why was Silver _in his bed_? 

Silver started to kick the covers off when he heard the door creak open. He stilled and his eyes landed on an unexpectedly small figure hovering in the doorway.

“Oooh, you’re awake!” The insect - some kind of bee, Silver figured - tilted his head with interest and and hovered a few feet closer.

“Um…” Silver’s eyes darted uneasily, trying to look behind the young Mobian but Espio was not in sight. He swallowed down his apprehension.

“Uh, yeah... who are you?”

“I’m Charmy! I’m part of the Chaotix with Vector and Espio.” The bee smiled brightly and did some kind of salute to Silver. 

“Oh, well, nice to meet you Charmy, is-”

“Are you Espio’s boyfriend?”

Silver choked on some saliva as his muzzle flushed beet red and his eyes widened to the size of saucers.

“What?! No! We’re just friends.”

Charmy rolled his eyes dramatically. “Suuuure…” his voice dripped with sarcasm. “Then why are you sleeping in his bed?” Charmy was blunt in the way that only a child could be and it only served to fluster Silver more.

“I don’t know! I...do you know where he is?” 

“He’s downstairs making breakfast, I just happened to be passing down the hall when I heard you moanin’ and groanin’ in here and decided to check and make sure you weren’t dying.”

Silver blinked, trying to absorb the situation properly. “Um, thanks, I guess.”

“I think Espio likes you.”

Silver shook his head and rubbed his temples wearily. He was starting to feel bad for Espio who had to deal with this kid every day. “What makes you think that?”

“‘Cause he’s down there making you a fancy breakfast and he almost never does that for me or Vector...mostly just tells me to make myself cereal.” Charmy rolls his eyes as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“Oh?” Silver was now fully facing Charmy, his legs off the side of the bed and his bare feet touching the soft lilac rug.

“Yeah! And you guys woke me up last night, Espio carried you up the stairs and tucked you in and even wiped your mouth off a little bit. You were really gross.”

Silver groaned and rubbed the heels of his palms on his eyes. “Gee, thanks…”

“Do you like him?”

“What?”

“You know what I mean - do you _like_ him? Do you think he’s handsome?” Charmy smirked.

Silver managed to huff a laugh out and shake his head. It had been awhile since he had interacted with a child, Cream only counted for so much since she was mature for her age. It was...quite endearing, actually.

“If I answer will you tell me where the bathroom is and take me to Espio?”

“Yes, yes!” Charmy clapped his hands together in unbridled excitement, his whole body seeming to buzz.

Silver grabbed one of his back quills and fiddled with it, looking away from Charmy. “Then yes, I do think he’s... _handsome_ ... and I may like him but if you tell him I said _anything_ then you’re a goner.”

“I knew it!” Charmy executed a mid-air backflip. “The way you were trying to hug him and all last night…”

“Just tell me where the bathroom is!”

“At the end of this hallway - yeesh, you’re no fun.” Charmy jerked his thumb over his shoulder.

\---

Espio stood frozen in place, unable to quite process what he had just heard. He had come upstairs to wake Silver for breakfast, but had rendered himself invisible as soon as he heard Charmy mention his name from the hallway. 

He knew that Silver had tried to flirt with him the night before but he wasn’t quite sure if it was due to actual feelings of attraction or just the alcohol.

Now that he had confirmation...what does he do with it?

Espio was so engrossed in the new information that he didn’t notice the light footfalls until he was being crashed into.

“Thanks Ch-AH!” Silver rammed into Espio who dropped his camouflage instantly and shot out his tail to grab the hedgehog who was falling back in surprise, hoisting him back up on to his feet.

“Silver! I apologize, I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

“Oh it’s ok!” Silver smiled despite the pain the almost-fall had incited in his head. Chaos he hoped Espio didn’t hear any of that.

Espio gave a small smile back, his thoughts still muddled from what he had eavesdropped on.

“Um..” Silver looked down and Espio noticed that his tail was still loosely curled around the hedgehog’s waist, he quickly retracted it and resisted the urge to tuck it between his legs, clearing his throat to hide his embarrassment. 

Silver picked at of his gloves that he had since retrieved from the night stand. “Look, Espio, about last night...I--”

“Come on, breakfast is ready.”

\---

  


Silver was seated at the table in the kitchen area of the house portion of the building, situated behind the main public front of the detective agency. Charmy taking up the seat next to him, smiling at him mischievously. 

“So did ya throw up while you were in the bathroom?”

Espio flicked the stove off with an exasperated sigh. “Charmy! I told you to leave him alone.”

“Aw c’mon Espio…” 

“Leave Silver be or you’re going to get nothing but vegetables for breakfast.”

Charmy groaned dramatically and slid down low in his seat, folding his arms across his chest. “I never get to have any fun around here.”

Espio didn’t have a chance to respond before he was cut off by a booming voice entering the kitchen.

“You best stop mouthin’ off and listen to Espio or I’m gunna throw your video games into the ocean.” The crocodile that Silver had seen fleetingly at the club last night, Vector, sat down heavily across from Silver and gave him a surprisingly friendly smile, the reptile hadn’t looked as nice from afar.

“Hey buddy, how ya feelin’?”

Silver gave Vector a strained yet polite smile, knowing full well how awful he looked. “Not as good as I could be…”

Vector chuckled, “Aw shit, I’ve been there before, you’ll live though, Espio tells me you’re a tough guy.” 

Silver couldn’t help but blush, kicking Charmy under the table when he giggled under his breath. “Thanks.”

The rest of the breakfast passed in relative peace, Charmy telling Vector and Espio all about his sleepover the night before with Cream. Silver couldn’t help but appreciate the way Espio listened intently to Charmy’s chattering, patiently paying his full attention and chiming in when he felt appropriate.

It was...well it was pretty freaking cute.

Charmy did as he was told and abstained from asking Silver invasive questions, in fact they all seemed to sense that Silver was not in a state to be interrogated at the moment and so kept the conversation relaxed.

When breakfast was done Charmy flew off to go play in another room and Vector offered to do the dishes since Espio had made breakfast for all of them by himself.

Over the sound of the kitchen sink on full blast Silver approached Espio as he stood up from the table, rubbing his arm anxiously.

“Thanks for the breakfast Espio, I feel a lot less dead already.” A shy smile. “Can...can I talk to you before I leave though?”

Espio nodded gently. “Of course, let’s go for a walk, you look like you could use some fresh air.”

  


\---

The duo walked down a path through the woods that butted up to the agency, it was a warm spring morning and every tree seemed to be laden with songbirds.

They walked in silence for the first few minutes, Silver just drinking in the atmosphere of the towering trees with sunlight streaming through the canopy. 

Eventually, he spoke up. “I’m sorry, about last night.”

Espio stopped and looked down at Silver in surprise. “What? What are you sorry for?”

Silver winced and tugged on one of his glove cuffs. “Because I-I had been drinking and I don’t know if I was reading your signals properly and-and maybe you don’t even like me and-” Silver’s rushed explanation was stopped by Espio stepping in front of him and placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“Silver. I wanted to apologize to _you_ because I was accepting your advances with much less alcohol in my system. It was wrong of me. You have nothing to apologize for, okay?”

Espio let himself reach out to brush one of his friend’s quills back a bit, out of his face.

Silver blushed and allowed a small, embarrassed smile. “Oh...so I, I didn’t make you uncomfortable or…?” Silver cast his eyes downward, thinking he knew what response he would get but still terrified nonetheless.

Espio’s hand comes down from Silver’s temple to his jaw, gently guiding his chin up to look into his own golden eyes.

“Absolutely not. I quite enjoyed it actually…”

Silver blinked, not quite understanding what Espio was trying to say. This is where his propensity for being “dense” (as the others called it) got in the way. So, did that mean that Espio really did like him or…?

“Oh, uh, well good. I’m glad you had a good time...I know I did.” Silver smiled up at Espio, Chaos that smile, those eyes, his aura…

Espio took Silver’s hand in his and guided them further down the path.

Silver thought his entire body must be showing red through his light fur, but he didn’t care at this point. Touching Espio, even if was just holding his hand started a happy thrumming in his chest and he couldn’t help the stupid grin that split across his face.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, the path spilled them out into a green meadow, the smallest hints of wildflowers starting to bud and pinprick the landscape with subtle color.

Espio followed Silver’s line of sight and saw that he was watching two chimney swifts soar around each other, ducking and gliding gracefully in the blue sky.

“I always wondered what it must feel like to fly like that.” Espio mused quietly to himself, his own eyes now tracing the flight path of the birds.

Silver looked to Espio and seemed to be thinking for a moment before he smiled widely and offered the chameleon his hand.

“Here, let me show you.”

Espio didn’t have time to question Silver’s intention before the hedgehog took hold of his hands. Espio instantly felt a buzz of energy pulse through his body. Not unpleasant, just a gentle vibration. He suddenly felt weightless and looked down to see that Silver was holding them above the ground a couple of inches. Silver giggled at the unsure expression Espio must have had on his face.

“You can relax - I won’t drop you. Trust me, ok?” 

He had a point, he _had_ saved Espio’s life twice in the short amount of time that he’s known him.

Espio locked eyes with Silver, nodded, took a deep breath through his nose and willed his body to relax. His shoulders dropped and his jaw unclenched.

The weightless feeling was much more pleasant when you relaxed into it.

“There you go! You’re a natural.” Silver beamed at Espio who still felt like he looked like a complete fool.

“I wouldn’t go that far.”

Silver had taken them up higher; only about 6 feet off the ground but it was exhilarating. Espio wasn’t afraid of heights; he had chased fugitives across rooftops, spied down on people from the tallest of trees and would sit on suspension bridge cables to relax... but there’s something different about being in the air supported by nothing by someone else’s mind. 

“Ready?” Silver asked playfully.

“For what?” Espio asked, slightly alarmed.

Silver let go of Espio’s hands and the chameleon commanded himself not to flail wildly. They were both still suspended but Silver was controlling them separately.

Silver smirked and folded his arms behind his head, leaning back into a reclining position on nothing but air.

“Wow Espio, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look so lost before.”

“I mean, this isn’t really in the realm of what I’ve experienced before.” Espio managed a smile. 

Espio eventually felt comfortable enough to lower his ams to his sides, finally being able to actually take in his surroundings, Silver seemed to have stopped them around 10 feet in the air.

“I’ve never experienced this kind of power before…” Espio murmured to himself as he looked down at the ground beneath them.

“Power? What do you mean exactly? Like telekinesis?” Silver unfolded his arms and looked at Espio with curiosity.

“Well, that too but... I mean I’ve never felt anything supernatural interact with my body before…”

Silver tilted his head (adorably) in confusion. “I don’t think I’m understanding…”

Espio sighed and closed his eyes. “I’m not like the rest of them, Silver. I don’t have super speed, alien DNA or Chaos abilities...I’m just normal. I’m just a backup if no one else is available.”

No trace of Silver’s previous smirk remained now, his brows went up and his mouth hung open slightly. He moved closer to Espio and grabbed one of his hands, anchoring the chameleon to him.

“Hey, are you kidding me? Yeah, you didn’t have fancy powers handed to you on a silver platter at birth, but you worked hard to get where you are. Do you think Sonic would have the mental wherewithal to be the hero he is if he wasn’t born with his abilities?” Espio’s glassy eyes were locked on to Silver, he hadn’t expected this kind of response from him. 

Espio never ceased to be charmed by this hedgehog. He was so genuinely caring, open and honest (Espio didn’t even think he could lie to save his life) - such a stark difference to the kind of people Espio had to deal with on a daily basis for his job.

“You’re so in-control all the time, calculating and stealthy. Me? I just throw stuff around and hope for the best.” Silver smiled reassuringly and reached out and cradled Espio’s cheek, using his thumb to tenderly wipe the moisture that had collected in the corner of Espio’s eye. Wait, was he crying? When had that happened?

“The emotional response is normal, by the way. When psychokinetic energy is used on someone who doesn’t possess the ability or hasn’t been exposed to it before there’s a physiological reaction in your brain. I don’t know the exact science behind it but I just know it happens.”

Silver brought his other hand to the opposite side of Espio’s muzzle. Espio smiled back at Silver, gently cupping his elbows with his own hands.

Encouraged that he had gotten a smile out of Espio, Silver continued. “I don’t know...I feel like you always have everything all figured out. Whenever I try to think things through, I overthink them. And when I try not to overthink things I don’t think them through enough...it’s like whatever I do I end up losing…”

Espio slid his hands up Silver’s forearms so he could clasp their hands together, fingers threading together. “Well you’re the farthest thing from loser to me...I see losers every day in my line of work and you are the farthest thing from them. You’re like a…uh... “ Espio blushed at himself for even starting this thought out loud. 

“A what?” Silver smiled coyly.

“I don’t want to say, it will make me seem...tacky.”

Silver tilted his head down with a small smile. “I already think you’re tacky, but I like it. Tell me.”

Espio rolled his eyes and then looked down. “...Tenshi.”

Silver blinked his large yellow eyes in confusion, his nose wrinkling in confusion in the cutest way.

“It means…”angel” in my language.”

Silver’s entire muzzle flushed crimson and he hid his face by resting his forehead on their clasped hands.

‘Oh man, you think too highly of me, Espio.”

“Nonsense. And being in control all the time is overrated. It’s good to be spontaneous, I can sense you have a very strong energy. An extremely positive aura. Follow your instincts and you’ll be fine.”

Silver looked up, face still pink but not scarlet anymore. “You’ll have to teach me how to read auras one day.”

“I’m not sure it’s something that can be taught...but I’d be more than happy to try if it meant we can see each other again…”

Silver grinned happily before suddenly kicking a leg out underneath Espio, effectively throwing off his balance and flipping them upside down in one smooth, gliding motion. Espio had a fleeting thought of how their bodies must look like the yin and yang symbol to the outside observer from how they were positioned now.

They were cradling each other’s heads with their hands braced on either side, Espio hovering over Silver so they were looking at each other upside down.

It was unclear who leaned in first, but hands still braced on each other’s heads, they found their lips gently grazing together. Espio’s body was abuzz with Silver’s energy flowing through him. After a moment they pulled away and rested their foreheads together, albeit Espio’s head turned slightly to allow for his horn. 

After a few seconds of just relishing in each other, their eyes fluttered open and they tool in each other’s flushed, inverted faces.

Silver smiled broadly, “Here…” He righted both of them and slowly lowered them to the ground and to the soft grass below.

Silver needed only to bashfully smile up at Espio through his eyelashes once on the ground for Espio to take a step forward. He bowed his head, tilting it to the side to keep his horn away from Silver’s delicate features and brushed his lips softly against Silver’s. Not pressing too hard unless the smaller Mobian wanted to back away. 

Thankfully Silver stayed put, his lips remaining relaxed but not quite reacting to Espio’s yet. Silver closed his eyes and breathed out through his nose, willing his nerves to relax. 

When Espio pulled away he looked down at Silver eyes searching for any hint of what the hedgehog might have been thinking.

“Wow,” Silver breathed, face flushed, irisis blown, his fingers coming up to touch his lips.

Espio tilted his head inquisitively, bringing his other hand up to hide a faint smile gracing his lips.

“Was that okay?”

Silver nodded. “Better than okay. Can...can we do it again?”

_Chaos_ , this kid was adorable.

Espio nodded gently and obliged the hedgehog, this time feeling the hedgehog’s lips meet his. Espio put a little more pressure behind this one, his hand coming up to hold Silver’s cheek tenderly. Silver leaned into the touch eagerly.

Espio drew back just barely to allow them to breathe, this time is was Silver who was leaning back in for more. As their mouths slotted together for the third time, Espio noticed a slight vibration bubbling up from deep within Silver’s chest, transferring up his throat and on to his lips. It was almost like a growl, but softer, like a…

“Are...are you _purring_?”

Silver pulled away and looked down at his feet, ears pinned back. “Uh, yeah, sorry, I can stop if it bothers you.”

“No! I just...didn’t know hedgehogs could do that. I thought it was more of a feline thing.”

“We can. Hedgehogs just don’t do it as liberally as cats do. I mean, Blaze will purr when she’s happy and just zoning out, but I only do it when...uh…” Silver turns a darker pink. “B-but if it annoys you-”

Espio reached out and grabbed Silver by the cheek not unkindly and planted another kiss on his lips. He just barely receded, letting his lips brush against the younger’s when he breathed “No. I love it. It kinda makes me wanna make you do it all the time.” 

Silver’s eyes widened at that and his face flushed even more than it already was. 

“Uh, can Chameleons…?”

“Purr? No. But we can do this.” Espio gave a coy smile and leaned forward and placed his hands on Silver’s shoulders, feeling him tense just slightly under his touch. Espio leaned over the shorter hedgehog and brought his lips right against his ear, feeling it twitch slightly in response. One of Espio’s hands came down to stroke one of Silver’s back quills languidly as he leaned in as close as he could...and _hissed_ quietly into Silver’s ear.

It would be comical how Silver’s body reacted if it weren’t so mortifying. His skin erupted into goosebumps, making his fur stand on end, his ears and tail shot straight up, his mouth was suddenly dry and he shivered with a small yet definitely audible whine. Espio couldn’t help the satisfied smirk that spread across his muzzle.

“W-wow. You gave me goosebumps.” Silver said with unveiled giddiness. 

Espio gave a pleased look before laying down on the grass, patting the patch next to himself to indicate Silver to do the same. 

“I like to come out here and meditate and watch the clouds sometimes.”

Silver happily laid next to Espio and looked up at the giant white clouds that sailed past in the endless blue like sky whales. 

Their fingers intertwined, eyes shut contentedly and they both fell asleep, lulled by Silver’s purring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've reached the fluff, you guys.
> 
> I hoped you like it! If you did, PLEASE consider leaving a comment, they really do keep me going :) You can find me on tumblr as missile--toe if you wanna chat :) 
> 
> See you all next update! Shouldn't be as long of a wait this time around.

**Author's Note:**

> I told you it was gay. I'm going to shamelessly ask for comments on this, this pairing is so rare that it's nice to have some encouragement! Let me know what you think! I'm also on tumblr as missile--toe, come chat with me sometime!
> 
> Also this is the song they were dancing to in the club: https://youtu.be/9T-IgUnfGH0


End file.
